College Football Playoff 2014: Top 25 Predictions After Week 12 AP Rankings
The 2014 regular season has been genuinely entertaining, but the mad rush toward the College Football Playoff has everyone trying to predict where the top programs in the nation will land on the Week 12 poll.
The Associated Press Top 25 rankings are a good barometer for how the Playoff selection committee will vote, but as proven through the first two weeks of the process, there are typically distinct differences.
Here are the predicted Week 12 College Football Playoff rankings, the Associated Press and Bleacher Report Top 25 polls and a breakdown of Week 11’s biggest winner.
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| 1 | Mississippi State Bulldogs | Mississippi State | Mississippi State |
| 2 | Florida State Seminoles | Florida State | Florida State |
| 3 | Oregon Ducks | Oregon | Oregon |
| 4 | Alabama Crimson Tide | Alabama | Alabama |
| 5 | TCU Horned Frogs | TCU | TCU |
| 6 | Arizona State Sun Devils | Baylor | Arizona State |
| 7 | Ohio State Buckeyes | Arizona State | Baylor |
| 8 | Baylor Bears | Ohio State | Ohio State |
| 9 | Auburn Tigers | Auburn | Auburn |
| 10 | Ole Miss Rebels | Ole Miss | Ole Miss |
| 11 | Kansas State Wildcats | Nebraska | Nebraska |
| 12 | Michigan State Spartans | Michigan State | Kansas State |
| 13 | Nebraska Cornhuskers | Kansas State | Michigan State |
| 14 | Georgia Bulldogs | UCLA | Notre Dame |
| 15 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | Notre Dame | Georgia |
| 16 | Arizona Wildcats | Georgia | UCLA |
| 17 | LSU Tigers | Arizona | Arizona |
| 18 | UCLA Bruins | Clemson | LSU |
| 19 | Clemson Tigers | Duke | Duke |
| 20 | Wisconsin Badgers | LSU | Clemson |
| 21 | Duke Blue Devils | Marshall | Wisconsin |
| 22 | Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets | Wisconsin | Marshall |
| 23 | Utah Utes | Colorado State | Georgia Tech |
| 24 | Marshall Thundering Herd | Georgia Tech | Colorado State |
| 25 | Colorado State Rams | Utah | Utah |
Week 11’s Biggest Winner
After Auburn’s loss to Texas A&M Saturday, the biggest winner in the hunt to make the College Football Playoff was the Alabama Crimson Tide, who held on to beat LSU in a thrilling overtime game.
Coming into Week 11, Alabama was ranked fifth overall and was on the outside of the Playoffs looking in. While a matchup against another ranked program in the LSU Tigers was a serious test for the Crimson Tide, the team pulled out a huge victory.
LSU gave Alabama a fight, forcing the game into overtime, but the Crimson Tide scored a touchdown and earned the 20-13 win. With Auburn losing to Texas A&M in a stunning result Saturday as well, there is no doubt that Alabama deserves a spot in the top four now.
After the win over LSU, Alabama head coach Nick Saban spoke to Edward Aschoff of ESPN.com, “It was tough down there, and I’m really, really proud of our players for finishing the game the way they did. Great win. Great win for Alabama, and I’m really proud of our players.”
Unfortunately for Crimson Tide nation, the time spent in Playoff contention could be short-lived.
As if a final-week matchup against Auburn wasn’t tough enough, Alabama hosts the No. 1 Mississippi State Bulldogs in Week 12. While a victory for the Crimson Tide would catapult them into the conversation for No. 1 overall, a loss would send the team out of Playoff contention.
Alabama could regain some momentum if the program were to beat Auburn in the Iron Bowl, but the losses to Ole Miss and possibly Mississippi State would likely result in the Crimson Tide being pushed out of the top four for the remainder of the season.
At least for this week, Alabama is Playoff-worthy.
*Stats via ESPN.com.
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